Anti-deflecting rewind shaft assembly for winding machines



Feb. 26, 1963 1.. RocKsTRoM 3,079,101

ANTI-DEFLECTING REWIND SHAFT ASSEMBLY FOR WINDING MACHINES Filed Dec. 1, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR: LEONARD EOC/(STRUM 14 TTO/PA/EY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 26, 1963 L. ROCKSTROM ANTI-DEFLECTING REWIND. SHAFT ASSEMBLY FOR WINDING MACHINES Filed Dec. 1, 1961 m w w W T P Q N r A M J M w I I M MW fi v w wn K w Ml iiiiiz. Q Q K Ix eww g Q ASEMBLY Fiied Dec. 1, 1961, Ser. No. 156,240 4 Claims. (Cl. 242-66) This invention relates to web-winding machines in which all or a substantial part of the weight of web material accumulating on a rewind roll is supported on a rewind shaft at the ends of which the support is provided. More particularly, it relates to improvements in a rewind shaft arrangement which, during a winding operation, opposes deflection or bending of the rewind shaft on which the web is being wound.

An important object of this invention is the provision of an improved rewind shaft assembly which may be elevated by a lifting force applied at its ends, while none of its parts is objectionably deflected by the weight of web material being wound thereon intermediate its ends. Another important object is the provision of such an improved rewind shaft assembly wherein any bending of components thereof is kept well within the resiliency limits of said components so that the latter will return substantially to unbent condition upon being relieved of the weight of web material wound thereon.

Another important object is the provision of such an improved rewind shaft assembly which includes a single shaft which is supported and/or elevatable at its opposite ends, which supports wound web intermediate its ends, and which, preferably, is non-rotary to avoid undesirable continuous flexing of the shaft successively in all directions radial of the latter during a winding operation.

A preferred embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawings for illustrative purposes and without limiting the invention to that particular embodiment.

in the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an end elevational view of certain parts of a conventional winding machine which serve to support and/ or elevate a shown roll of wound web material.

FIG. 2 is a side view, partly in elevation and partly in section, substantially on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the rewind shaft assembly portion of PEG. 2 but in non-loaded condition and including further details.

FIG. 4 is a further enlarged view of a bearing portion of FIG. 3, this being in central axial section and showing the principal details of a suitable bearing arrangement.

The winding arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a pair of winding drums 19 and 12, corresponding ends of which are fitted with pinions 14 and 16, respectively, which mesh with and are driven by a suitably driven gear wheel 18 to turn the drums in similar directions as indicated by arrows thereon.

Web material W becomes wound upon a rewind shaft assembly 20 which, with the web material which accumulates thereon to form a rewind roll 22, rests upon and is driven frictionally by the drums to effect winding of the web upon the shaft assembly and into the form of roll 22.

As it is desirable to keep the force of frictional engagement of the drums and 12 by roll 22 to little or no more than that necessary to yield the desired winding effect, a lifting force is applied to end members 24 fixedly located upon opposite end portions of the rewind shaft assembly 24}; this force being indicated by arrows applied to said end members in the drawings.

" atet ice Means for applying said lifting force are well known in the subject art and do not constitute any essential part of this invention; hence, said lifting means are not detailed in the drawings. Such lifting means are preferably so controlled as to keep step substantially with the gradually increasing thickness of the roll 22, whereby approximately to maintain the preferred force of the frictional driving engagement of the roll 22 with drums 10 and 12.

In the drawings, the roll 22 is shown as consisting of relatively narrow sections 22a, 22b, 22c and 22d; relatively wide web material having been longitudinally slitted in passing to the illustrated winding mechanism to form said narrow sections. Ordinarily, the web is wound upon suitable cylindrical cores 26 which are placed upon the rewind shaft assembly 20 at the start of a winding operation.

It is desirable that the cores 26 be as small in diameter as practical considerations permit. Thus, the rewind shaft assembly should similarly be quite small in diameter with the result that the upward lifting force at end members 24 and the weight of the roll 22 causes substan tial bending or deflection of the roll-elevating means unless suitable means are provided to oppose such deflection. This invention provides a rewind shaft assembly which includes improved means for opposing such defiection.

The principles of the present improved anti-deflection means may be understood by reference to FIG. 2, from which it may be seen that the shaft assembly 20 is a composite of three principal parts; a relatively rigid, preferably non-rotatable rod or main shaft member 28, a relatively rigid sleeve member 30, and a pair of bearings 32a and 32b by means of which said sleeve member is supported at plural points upon said shaft member, in coaxial relation to the latter, and adapted to rotate upon the shaft member. The association of said bearings with the members 2S and 30 should be such as to prevent relative endwise movement between said members.

Although the bearings may be of any character suitable to thus support and permit rotation of the sleeve member 30 upon shaft member 28, the form of bearing illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 is considered to be particularly well suited for that purpose. The two bearings, as illustrated, are alike although they face in opposite direc-. tions; therefore, a description of bearing 32a, shown in detail in FIG. 4, should afford a complete understanding of the bearing arrangement.

Bearing 32a is a self-aligning bearing which comprises a circular series of rollers 34 working between an inner race 36 and an outer race 38. The race 36 is disposed with an accurate fit upon a portion 28a of the shaft member 28 and is held firmly against a shoulder 28b of the latter by a cross-sectionally angular washer 40 which is forcibly held against the race 36 by a lock nut 42. A second angular washer, 44, welded to the shaft member 28, is preferably provided to abut the race 36 supplementally to the shoulder 28b.

The outer race 38 is clamped tightly between shoulders 46 and 48, respectively, of an outer clamping sleeve 50 and an inner clamping sleeve 52 which is threaded into sleeve 50. These two sleeves are interlocked by a suitable dowel or dowel crew 54, and are welded to cylindrical members 56a, 56b and 58 of sleeve member 30 so that member 56a at one end of the rewind shaft, corresponding member 56b toward the other end of the rewind shaft, member 58 at an intermediate part of the rewind shaft, and sleeves 50 and 52 together with similar sleeves associated with hearing 32b, constitute the complete sleeve member 30. The bearing arrangement disclosed is such that the sleeve member 30 cannot shift longitudinally to any material extent relatively to the shaft member 28.

It will be realized that, as the web material accumulates onthe. rewind shaft and-the'roll 22becomes of substantial weight, both the sleeve member 30 and the shaft member 28 become deflected to some extent as exaggeratedly shown inbrokenlines irrFIG. 2; This deflection, actually almost imperceptible, would be, consider ablymore substantial and objectionable were it not for the fact that the weightof the .roll 22, instead of being substantially: directed uponthe center of the rod member 28, is substantially distributed, by the dual bearing'arrangement, along the lengthsof the sleeve member 30 and the rod member 28.

The preferred location of the bearings, giving rise to theleast deflection, can, at leastinitially, be determined mathematically, and thereafter be finally determined by actual tests, ifnecessary. In practice, a given complete rewind shaft assembly 20 may serve satisfactorily with reference to a. limited range of weights and widths of rewind'rolls; and, for each windingjmachine, several interchangeable rewind shaft assemblies of different sizes may be kept available toenable the winding machine to be used for awide range of widthsand weights of rewind rolls An-important feature of this invention resides in the fact that the rod 28 is non-rotatable and'that, with freerunningbearings, the-sleeve member 30 is freely-rotatable with therewind roll 22. Under this arrangement, the rod28 is not subjected to continuous-flexing in-aninfinite number ofiradial'lplanes as is-truein arrangements wherein a shaft, somewhat comparable to the rod 28, is continuously-rotatedld'uringawinding operation. In arrangementsaccording to thisinvention, the rod- 28defiects only ina. single plane and the deflection is well within the resiliency limit of said real so that the latter returns to its straight conditionupon beingrelieved of the weight ofa completely wound rewind roll. Thus, the rod 28 suffers. little or. no fatigue.

Thedefiection of the sleeve member; 30' is: soslight and so.distributed along itslength, that, despite its rotation, itsnfiersaminimumof fatigue, not sufficient-to be troublesome.

It should be notedthat the'novel concepts involved in thisrlevelopmentmay be utilized in various other arrangements without, however, departing from thisinvention as. set forth in the. following claims;

1; vAn anti-deflecting rewind shaft assembly fora wind: ingmachine,- comprisinga rotary cylindrical sleeve memher adapted for the winding of web thereon, a shaft member extending axially through said sleeve memberin spaced relation to the latter, a pair of bearings fixed in spaced relation to each other upon said shaft member at intermediate points on the latter, said sleeve member being rotatably carried on said bearings, and meansetfective at opposite ends of said shaft member for elevating the shaft assembly together with web material wound thereon; said sleeve member extending substantially beyond said bearings at its opposite ends, said bearings'being adapted to oppose movement of, said sleeve member longitudinally of said shaft member, and said sleeve member comprising a cylindrical end member at each end thereof, each having an abutment portion at its inner end in abutment with the outermost side of'an adjacent one of said bearings, and an intermediate cylindrical member inabutment with the'innermost side of each of said bearings and rigidly connected releasably to said cylindrical end members.

2. A rewind shaft;assemb1y according to c'lairn 1, said sleeve member comprising cylindrical clamping members in non-shifting association with outer peripheral portions of said'bearings, and tubular members rigidly interconnected with said clamping; members in end-to-end coaxial relationship.

3. A rewind shaft assembly according to. claim 2, said clamping members each comprising a pair of clamping elements which are inter-threaded to facilitate assembly and disassembly of said sleeve member.

4'. A rewind shaftassembly according to' claim 1, the connections of said intermediate-cylindrical member with said cylindrical end members being threaded connec= tions, the tightening of which-serves to hold said sleeve member against endwise shifting relatively to said shaft member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,169,625 Weiss et'al. Aug.- 15,1939 2,192,179 Clausen' Mar; 5, 1940 2,270,436 Hart Jan. 20, 1942 2,355,511 Cobb Aug. 8, 1944 2,676,387 McArn Apr. 27, 1954 2,950,875 Dain et al. Aug. 30,1960 3,008,194. Sommer Nov. 14, 1961 3,009,666 Moser Nov. 21, 1961 

1. AN ANTI-DEFLECTING REWIND SHAFT ASSEMBLY FOR A WINDING MACHINE, COMPRISING A ROTARY CYLINDRICAL SLEEVE MEMBER ADAPTED FOR THE WINDING OF WEB THEREON, A SHAFT MEMBER EXTENDING AXIALLY THROUGH SAID SLEEVE MEMBER IN SPACED RELATION TO THE LATTER, A PAIR OF BEARING FIXED IN SPACED RELATION TO EACH OTHER UPON SAID SHAFT MEMBER AT INTERMEDIATE POINTS ON THE LATTER, SAID SLEEVE MEMBER BEING ROTATABLY CARRIED ON SAID BEARINGS, AND MEANS EFFECTIVE AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID SHAFT MEMBER FOR ELEVATING THE SHAFT ASSEMBLY TOGETHER WITH WEB MATERIAL WOUND THEREON; SAID SLEEVE MEMBER EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY BEYOND SAID BEARINGS AT ITS OPPOSITE ENDS, SAID BEARINGS BEING ADAPTED TO OPPOSE MOVEMENT OF SAID SLEEVE MEMBER LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID SHAFT MEMBER, AND SAID SLEEVE MEMBER COMPRISING A CYLINDRICAL END MEMBER AT EACH END THEREOF, EACH HAVING AN ABUTMENT PORTION AT ITS INNER END IN ABUTMENT WITH THE OUTERMOST SIDE OF AN ADJACENT ONE OF SAID BEARINGS AND AN INTERMEDIATE CYLINDRICAL MEMBER IN ABUTMENT WITH THE INNERMOST SIDE OF EACH OF SAID BEARINGS AND RIGIDLY CONNECTED RELEASABLY TO SAID CYLINDRICAL END MEMBERS. 